Newbie with question regarding re-using mason jars

Hey everyone! Very excited about my Anova and sous vide in general. First thing I made were egg bites in 4 oz mason jars and they turned out awesome. 2nd thing I made was flourless chocolate cake in same jars also turned out awesome. I made the egg bites again last night and I don’t know if I am losing it but I detected a faint flavor of the chocolate cake in my egg bite today?? Am I going crazy? Did I do something wrong? They are so much work and I literally had to throw it in the trash it tasted so weird. Help me!!

How did you wash the jars and lids?

Hi Ember - I was them by hand with soap and water and then run them through the dishwasher…

Wild guess but if you are reusing lids that could be problem if they are standard two piece type. The soft area that normally seals jar when canning may be picking up the odor and transferring it to eggs. The jars should be fine the way you described.

Some absorption into the sealing ring is really the only possibility. The glass is impervious. But I really have doubts about penetration of aroma into the thin layer of synthetic rubber, too.

Probably didn’t absorb aroma’s. Best guess batter got onto seal and was physically absorbed some way.

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Chocolate molecules are extremely aggressive and can bond to the P-shell electrons of any impurities in the glass. Electron bombardment in excess of 1 GeV is the only cure… okay, I’m just kidding.

Seriously:
I find that used jars and their lids often are hard to fully clean, and frequently retain an aromatic component of previous contents. A careful smell test before use will save you a lot of grief. Stubborn jars and lids will usually yield to a soak with a 50% heated vinegar solution followed by thorough rinsing. Other than that, just give the funky tasting outcomes to children, pets, or uninvited guests.

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Ha! This is literally the best. :slight_smile: thank you!

thanks for the input everyone. After examination I believe that only two of the jars were filled with enough batter that possibly came into contact with the rubber seals on the two part lids. I am going to give them a soak in vinegar and if that doesn’t work I will just toss the two and be more careful when filling my jars. You guys are the best! :slight_smile: